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Palace officials must avoid ‘virtue signalling’ to anti-monarchists by giving honours recipients the chance to drop the word ‘empire’, senior Tories said last night.
Royal officials are considering offering those recognised with an OBE – Order of the British Empire – the option to receive an Order of British Excellence instead.
Another option, the Order of Elizabeth, has also been proposed – but any changes would need to be signed off by No 10.
In the past, several recipients, including Benjamin Zephaniah, have turned down the honour because of the word ‘empire’.
The changes being discussed would ensure colonial-era titles would be retained for those who wanted to accept them.
King Charles and Queen Camilla on a visit to Samoa. A new biography of the King revealed plans to drop the word ’empire’ from British honours
Ian Wright, from London, broadcaster and author, is made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire by the Prince of Wales at Buckingham Palace, London
In the past, several recipients, including Benjamin Zephaniah, have turned down the honour because of the word ‘empire’
Actor Alan Cumming is among stars who have returned honours. He handed back his OBE last year after saying he had ‘misgivings about being associated with the toxicity of empire’
Australians waving union flags with King Charles as they wait to greet the monarch and Queen Camilla in Sydney on October 20
Members of the public greet the King outside Parliament House in Canberra
The move comes amid increasing calls to review the legacy of the British Empire, with Caribbean countries calling for the UK to pay hundreds of billions of pounds in reparations for the slave trade.
Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith said last night: ‘It would be a mistake. Everyone knows what they are for and respects the recipient. They are for a wide range of contributions with a link to historic endeavours.
‘Those who attempt to sit in judgement of the past, as Churchill pointed out, “will lose the future”.
‘I would say to the Palace officials thinking of this, stop trying to virtue signal to those who anyway dislike the monarchy, leave well alone.’
Ex-Cabinet Minister Jacob Rees-Mogg said: ‘Some honours – for example, the Star of India or the Order of St Patrick, the Irish equivalent of the Garter, are no longer awarded and in that way the honours system evolves.
‘A Royal Elizabethan order modelled on the Royal Victorian order is an attractive idea but bowdlerising the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is not.’
Any alteration to the honours system would be down to Sir Keir Starmer’s government
The OBE Medal – The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry, the OBE signifies an Officer of the Order
When asked about the honours proposal, a No 10 source said: ‘We would not discuss any conversations with the Palace under any circumstances’.
Shadow Culture Secretary Julia Lopez said she expected the Tory leader – who did not comment on the issue last night – to be ‘deeply sceptical’ of any such move.
She told Sky News: ‘My gut feeling is that she would be deeply sceptical towards that. Because there’s an implication that the empire is something that is a source of shame. And I don’t think that she’s ever thought that it is.’
Reform to the honours system was first suggested by a Commons select committee in 2004.
It recommended phasing out the Order of the British Empire as its title was ‘now considered to be unacceptable, being thought to embody values that are no longer shared by many of the country’s population.’
It also suggested switching ‘Empire’ for ‘Excellence’ and changing the rank of Commander (CBE) to Companion as the former was said to have a ‘militaristic ring’.
The suggestions were rejected by Tony Blair’s Labour government.
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